The Cleveland Guardians have adopted a cautious approach to a sportsbook within the immediate facility of Progressive Field. While the team introduced renovations planned for the stadium in 2024 and 2025, the press release did not talk about sports betting.
According to team president of baseball operations, Brian Barren, it comes down to what Major League Baseball allows, and right now gambling spaces within the park are off-limits.
“You can place bets (via mobile apps), and we’re in the process of working through what a retail sports (gaming) option might look like here at Progressive Field as we speak,” Barren told Cleveland.com.
bet365 recently revealed a multi-year partnership to be the Guardian’s exclusive mobile sports betting partner.
“There are limitations, or guardrails around sports betting and for MLB, there are things you can and can’t do as it relates to a sportsbook that you can walk into at the ballpark and place a bet,” Barren said.
Neil Weiss, chief information officer, said the license granted for bet365 differed from what he called a Type B license obtained by the Cavaliers which permits a sportsbook inside Rocket Mortgage Field House.
“We’re looking at potentially partnering with somebody, but it’s got to be outside our gate lines because Major League Baseball does not allow for a physical sportsbook in the ballpark,” Weiss said. “Anything we do will be on the edges of our ballpark.”
Hence the cautious approach. The Nationals have a similar sportsbook outside their stadium in Washington and the Cubs will do likewise at Wrigley Field.
“We’ve got a lot of work in front of us on the stuff inside the ballpark,” Barren told Cleveland.com. “As we look beyond the ballpark, and certainly the development parcel is a component, we’ll look to do something there that makes the most sense from a fan perspective as well as from a business perspective.”
